Mortgage Fraud and Marijuana is Charge against Minnesota Realtor

Eric Wayne Moen, 36, from Park Rapids, Minnesota was charged on August 18, 2009 for his involvement in mortgage fraud and growing marijuana plants in the home obtained by that mortgage fraud according to a press release issued by United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota, B. Todd Jones.

The Indictment alleges that Moen and his co-conspirator Kevin Ray Winkelmann, 39, of Shorewood, Minnesota, deliberately misrepresented Winkelmanns employment on an application for purchase of a single family home. Moen was a licensed Real Estate Agent at the time. Moen and Winkelmann submitted a mortgage loan application to GreenPoint Mortgage Funding, Inc in order to purchase the single family home. The loan was approved by Green Point Funding, Inc based on Winkelmanns employment status.

GreenPoint Mortgage Funding, Inc transferred the funds on the day of closing to Title One Commercial Inc. on November 28, 2005 via wire transfer in the amount of $641,840.63. Moen on December 1 of that year deposited into his personal Wells Fargo & Co bank account $15,650.87 knowing the funds were derived from the fraudulent wire.

Moen then used the home to manufacture over one hundred marijuana plants between January 2006 and June 18, 2007. It is unclear in the indictment if Moen intended to distribute the marijuana for sale.

Moen is charge with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; one count of money laundering and one count of manufacturing marijuana. Moen faces a maximum penalty on the conspiracy count of 20 years; for the money laundering court a maximum of ten years and for the manufacturing of marijuana count a maximum of 40 years.

Winkelmann pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud on August 22, 2009. He is currently waiting sentence from United States District Court Judge Ann Montgomery.

Assistant United States Attorney David M. Genrich will handle the prosecution of the case. A United States District Judge has not been appointed as of today to the case. The investigation was handled by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division and the United States Postal Service.

The press release reaffirms that an indictment is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed an offense and that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.